Innovation Policy Post

Last week a federal appeals court ruled on a subject dodged by the Supreme Court last year in US v. Jones: Whether the government can use your phone as a tracking device without getting a warrant first. Unfortunately the Sixth Circuit decided in a 2-1 opinion that you have no reasonable expectation of privacy in your location because your cell phone is transmitting a signal at all times that can be used to track its location.

Certain industries who prioritize controlling their content expend considerable amounts of time and money on lobbying for legislation, such as SOPA and PIPA.  However, the RIAA, one of the most vocal supporters, allegedly conceded in a recently leaked report that the SOPA/PIPA “legislation [was] not likely to have been effective tool for music.”  So not only is there uncertainty as to the extent of the problem, given the many opportunities for online commerce, but there is apparently uncertainty by the RIAA itself as to the success of that legislative fix.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing on “Marketplace Fairness: Leveling the Playing Field for Small Business” this month.  Unfortunately, the substance of the hearing had very little to do with the laudable title, as it dealt with the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would shift the burden of tax collecting requirements to online retailers regardless of physical presence.  In contrast with other senators on the committee who seemed to accept the premise that it was somehow fair to impose a tax collection mandate on small online businesses over thousands of tax jurisdictions, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) demonstrated their understanding both of the compliance burdens such a mandate would entail, and also of the value of different business models.  

Two members of Congress have introduced legislation to help innovators combat patent trolls.  HR 6245, co-authored by Congressmen Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, would allow tech companies to recover litigation costs for nuisance lawsuits where the plaintiff made legal claims that had little chance of succeeding.